Mon, 08 May 2017 15:04:15 -0500WeeblyThu, 20 Oct 2016 17:20:44 GMThttp://douglastanner.weebly.com/blog/love-and-politicsTHIS NATION is more politically divided than at any other time in my life. The level of vitriol and hatred coming from both sides of the electorate is, at times, astonishing.

In addition, racial tensions across the country have increased. The divide between social liberals and conservatives over gay marriage and abortion has deepened. Anti-Christian rhetoric is on the rise. Random acts of terror are killing innocent people.

Evangelicals are at a fever pitch over these issues. We feel responsible to take action because we, as Christians, are identified by Christ as salt and light in the world. That means that we stand up for the things of God and shine the light of the Gospel, i.e., the spiritual salvation freely available to all through faith in Christ.

As a result of Christians striving to be heard about these issues, those opposed accuse us of being hateful bigots, of despising everyone who believes or lives differently from us. Many times, I think, Christians do sound hateful (as do many who disagree with us).

The fact that we Americans live in a free and representative democracy in which voting is not merely a right, but a civic responsibility, contributes to Christians working themselves into a lather as they take stands on issues and demonize and verbally attack political candidates and their supporters.

But that's not love.

And it doesn't fulfill the Great Commission, our primary marching order from Christ. We Christians, who are all sinners forgiven and saved by the love and grace of God, are specifically commanded by Christ to love others in return and to make disciples in the name of the One Who came to seek and save the lost, no matter what culture we live in. Sometimes it appears that some professing Christians have elevated political rhetoric and action above fulfilling the Great Commission, or worse, have allowed politics to completely replace the Gospel in their lives. But if we live or preach any gospel other than the love and mercy and grace and salvation of Christ, that is a fake gospel, a heresy. If we allow anger over a political or moral issue to be expressed as unkind or demeaning words directed at others, that is sin.

I believe that the loudest, most hateful elements within any group of people do not represent the majority. Whether it is people rioting in the streets, or picketing funerals, or those on both sides of politics and religion lambasting one another, the worst examples always get the most attention. That is unfortunate.

To be sure, politically active Christians do have valid concerns about real issues that are worthy of our attention and political involvement. But, ultimately, those issues are spiritual issues. The most powerful way to "fix the world" is for the world to be reconciled to God, through Christ. Our job, as followers of Christ, is to do the reconciling.

And we can't do that apart from love.

It is impossible to be effective ambassadors on behalf of a loving God to a fallen and broken world when we express our political concerns with ridicule and hatred, and elevate politics above the Gospel of Christ.

]]>Fri, 30 Oct 2015 21:44:18 GMThttp://douglastanner.weebly.com/blog/what-is-art“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

No matter who originally said it, it’s true. Writing, especially creative writing, is like wrestling with demons in the dark. And if it is art, if it is true, it hurts. It tears your heart out.

What is art?

It is the song of your heart. It is self-expression. It is beauty; it speaks truth in the moment it is experienced. It is the creativity of the human spirit, outwardly expressed and shared with the world.

Every artist has to decide whether to be true to his art or sell out. “Cut this out, make these changes to make it more palatable for the masses. Don’t talk about God. Don’t get too deep. Don’t write about monsters. Don’t get too dramatic, or scary, or emotional, or, or… Make it more marketable. Re-do it and transform it into something that appeals to a wider audience, that is selling better. Homogenize it.”

No.

I create beauty, and I create truth, and I create art. And that will not change, now or ever. My art holds me hostage to its truth. I can’t change it. It speaks for itself. When I sit down to write, there is a spiritual connection between God and the work and me in the middle, and something meaningful is manifested.

I feel every emotion that I describe. I suffer through every situation that my characters experience. I have to be in the midst of it. In order for my characters to hurt I have to hurt; if they cry I cry; if they suffer so do I. It is an emotionally draining and difficult experience to feel all of it, and to birth something into existence.

So why do it?

Because I’m trying to give my readers something beautiful, something meaningful. With every book I begin by praying that God would help me to create something as close to a masterpiece as I am capable of. In fact, I begin each day’s session of writing with that prayer.

Of course, not everyone who reads my work will agree about the masterpiece part. And the stories will not mean much to some people. But if one person reads something I have written, and is touched in some way, if it somehow speaks to them, I am satisfied.

I give my heart and soul to my art; I give it everything I am. It tears my heart out. It is a struggle to bring to fruition.

That’s my choice. I offer my works to the world and expose them to critique, for better or worse. And, as I wrote in the preface of A Truly Successful Life, my books are my bouquet to you.

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” - 2 Cor. 6:14 (NASB, as with the following quotes)

In condemning the idea of scary monster stories, especially when they include vampires and werewolves, many Christians refer to the above verse, particularly the part that says, “…what fellowship has light with darkness?” It's probably the most commonly-quoted verse when they say Christians should neither read nor watch stories and movies with those elements, and certainly should not write about such things. The surprised looks I sometimes receive when believers suddenly realize that some of my stories are horror caught me by surprise the first time it happened. After all, as a child I loved the old classic monster movies and comic books; they were exciting and spooky and fun! There was nothing inappropriate about them; the good guys always won, the monsters always lost. In fact, in many of the stories, themes of faith were prevalent, especially when it came to defeating the monsters. God, and the people and things of God, were frequently shown to be more powerful than the creatures of the night. Good won, evil lost; which was the way it was supposed to be.

Of course, many of the modern monster stories have taken a decidedly secular turn toward sin and moral ambiguity and the celebration of evil, and I think that is perhaps why those concerned about "horror stories" become alarmed when they hear about my books. But the people, and the kids, of the world are in the world. They are there in the midst of the sin and the pain and the trials and the hardships. The kids are drawn to monster stories. That is where they are, in the midst of their lives. If not my stories, then it will be someone else’s. They watch the monster movies and read the monster books, maybe because it gives them a chance to see good win over evil, whether they get to see it in the real world or not. Maybe because it gives them a way to have control over the evil that is so prevalent around them. Inside the stories, it is safe. They can close the book if it gets too intense, and come back later. And they can watch the bad guys lose, and the good guys win. And in the stories, it’s usually clear who the good and bad guys are. In the real world, that distinction, unfortunately, is sometimes difficult to see. The people who use the above verse as a reason to separate from the world in all its sinfulness, and especially from unbelievers because they are, in fact, unbelievers, are wrong. In context, it is true that the Biblical conversation includes themes of holiness, which all Christians should pursue. And the verse does clarify that believers and unbelievers should not marry; in fact, that is the primary focus of the verse. This is because a believer being married to someone who does not believe, and who may be adversarial toward Christian faith, is obviously a difficult thing to succeed at. The unbeliever may end up causing the believer to struggle and grow cold in their faith; they will certainly cause difficulties when it comes to teaching their children about God. That is granted. But remember Jesus’ prayer for His disciples in John 17? “I do not ask You [the Father] to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one…. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (verses 15 and 18) And take note of this from the Apostle Paul as well: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of the world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to be out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person…” (I Cor. 5:9-11). So we see that we are not to avoid worldly people. In fact, we, as Christians, are sent to them in the name of Christ. And where are we to reach them? In church, right? Wait for them to show up and then tell them about God!

No... the Church, as the body of Christ, is sent by God into the world to reach them where they're at. And how do I get a message of faith to a thirteen-year-old who wants to read a cool story about a vampire?

I'll write a cool story about a vampire and include a message of faith within the story.

In Albert Barnes’ commentary on 2 Cor. 6:14, he writes that Christians are to avoid:

“...the amusements and pleasures that are entirely worldly, and sinful in their nature; that are wholly under worldly influence, and which cannot be brought under Christian principles. Nearly all amusements are of this description. The true principle here seems to be, that if a Christian in such a place is expected to lay aside his Christian principles, and if it would be deemed indecorous and improper for him to introduce the subject of religion, or if religion would be regarded as entirely inconsistent with the nature of the amusement, then he is not to be found there. The world reigns there, and if the principles of his Lord and Master would be excluded, he should not be there.”

(Albert Barnes, "Notes On The Bible")

I submit that what I have done with the Alec Kerley stories is to take ownership of the monster stories and introduce themes of faith and redemption into them. Rather than laying aside my Christian principles in the stories of monsters like vampires and werewolves, I have transformed them and taken ownership of them in the name of faith. In effect, I'm going out into the world and whispering into the ear of that middle-schooler that maybe there's something to the idea of faith in God.

My stories are the means of delivering those messages of faith to my readers, wherever they are. In the midst of their sin. In the midst of their pain. In the midst of their lives. I deliver action-packed, fun, clean stories which show that good wins over evil, that God is stronger than Satan, and which carry subtle messages of faith. They're not overbearing, and they're not "preachy," because I'm not directing the books at a strictly Christian audience.

I'm directing the books at the kids who are where I was at their age; to my thirteen-year-old self. They love monsters, and think they are cool. They've maybe been dealing with some pain and maybe haven't had time to think about something as ethereal as faith. I'm letting them know that there is healing available after pain; that there is a God who loves them; and that they can know Him.

That is my ministry. And as Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”